The Cobb Board of Commissioners approved rezoning for two properties Tuesday. The first is a planned senior housing complex, a rendering of which is above, near the intersection of Bells Ferry Road and Shiloh Road.Special to the MDJ

The Cobb Board of Commissioners approved rezoning for two properties Tuesday. The second of which is a proposed Hampton Inn at the northwest intersection of Chastain Road and Busbee Drive.Special to the MDJ

MARIETTA — Two major Kennesaw-area developments — a mid-rise hotel and a 178-unit senior housing complex — are one step closer to reality following the approval of rezoning requests by the Cobb Board of Commissioners on Tuesday.

The board unanimously approved the senior housing complex, which sits near the intersection of Bells Ferry Road and Shiloh Road.

Attorney Garvis Sams, of the Marietta-based firm Sams, Larkin, Huff and Balli, LP, presented the rezoning to the board. He said Atlanta-based Medical Development Corporation will own, develop and manage the property.

The 10.7-acre development includes 91 assisted living units, 76 supportive living units and 11 independent living units. Garvis said rents, which include costs of care, are expected to range from $3,500 to $4,500 per month.

Size of the units will range from 500 square feet for the assisted living units to 1,500 square feet and more for the independent living homes.

A similar rezoning came before the board in 2007, Sams said, which did not come to fruition owing to the Great Recession.

“We all know what happened to the real estate market,” Sams said.

The development will be built in two stages, with the three-story assisted living and independent units built first. The process should begin in about three months, Garvis said, and take 11 months to build.

Garvis said the four-story, supportive living building and the rest of the independent living units will be built as soon as possible, but they are dependent on market demand.

There is no name for the development yet; however, similar developments have been named Villas at Canterfield in Cumming and Centerfield of Oak Ridge in Oak Ridge, Tenn.

Garvis said the units could not be turned into apartments at a later date, adding there is high demand for senior living that will be hard to keep up with in the future.

Several neighborhoods sit near the area, including Arden Trace and Chestnut Hill. Rich Nyberg, a board member of the Arden Trace homeowner’s association and senior manager of pro compliance for Home Depot, told the board his concerns about the development.

“We do see a lot of good things with this development,” he said. “But there is nothing in the area that is four stories.”

Nyberg also had issues with “perpetual construction” if the project took five or more years to build. Garvis responded that the first phase of construction would take less than a year to build, and the second phase would be built as quickly as possible. Garvis also said the four-story building sits in a valley and the building would be no more than 2.5 stories above street level.

The board voted 5-0 to approve the zoning, though Commissioner JoAnn Birrell, who represents the area, will have to sign off on the final design.

Kennesaw hotel

A proposed Hampton Inn at the northwest intersection of Chastain Road and Busbee Drive — which is owned by KLCK Inc. — was also unanimously approved for rezoning by the board.

John Moore, with Marietta-based law firm Moore, Ingram, Johnson and Steele LLP, represents Hampton Inn Chastain, LLC, which hopes to construct the hotel. It will span seven stories, 64,500 square feet and 100 units, with a food service area and outdoor guest area included.

The commissioners approved a recommended zoning change from general commercial to office mid-rise on the 1.41-acre tract, including 95 parking spots and a monument-style entrance.

The site, which is in short driving distance from both Kennesaw State University and Town Center at Cobb, is the former location of Chicago Pizza and Sports Grille.

Moore said construction can begin immediately after permits are issued and should take about a year to finish. The builder of the future Hampton Inn is the same builder of the Embassy Suites on Chastain Road, according to Moore.

Moore said he would describe the building as a “businessman’s hotel” rather than a luxury hotel.

“It will serve KSU parents and students that come to visit, along with business people,” Moore said. “Business people that travel stay in hotels like this, they like the continental breakfast because they can get it and get out and do their business.”

The property is inside the Town Center Area Community Improvement District, which was established in 1997 as a self-taxing district.

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